YEREVAN. – The European Union attaches great importance to a constructive dialogue with Armenia, said the EU Ambassador to Armenia Piotr Switalski.

His remark came at the first meeting of the Committee on Trade-Related Cooperation between Armenia and the EU held in Yerevan on Tuesday.

According to him, the EU the largest trade area for Armenia, being the second trading partner of the country and the second largest investor.

Switalski added that the dynamics of Armenian-EU trade relations is also encouraging, as in the past three years, exports from Armenia to the EU in the GSP + regime have more than doubled.

“Growth is obvious and tangible. But despite this, the potential of EU-Armenian trade relations is higher than their current level,” the ambassador said.

According to him, trade liberalization between Armenia and the EU is facilitated by a number of provisions in the Armenian-EU deal on the optimization of the country's legislative framework, the expansion of public procurement opportunities, and consumer protection.

“These goals will be realized during the implementation of the EU-Armenian deal, and the EU welcomes Armenia's willingness to cooperate on these issues,” Piotr Switalski concluded.

According to the Statistical Committee of Armenia, the foreign trade turnover between Armenia and the EU exceeded $1 billion in 2017, which is more than the indicator of the annual limitation by 36.1%. In particular, exports increased by 22% to $ 432.4 million, while imports grew by 47.8% to $ 633.3 million. The EU is Armenia’s second trade partner, its share in country's foreign trade turnover is 26%.